INSIGHT
Mobile
Marketing Strategies
Themes that persist through progress, by Deanna Dobson, Client Relations Manager at Income Access.
Several years ago, Mercedes
Benz came out with a commercial entitled
The Race. The spot depicts the world’s
purported “first ever automobile race”,
which took place on July 22, 1894,
somewhere just outside Paris. Skipping
the details of the race itself, we speed
ahead to the commercial’s climactic voice
over, which lets us know that as far as
Mercedes is concerned, “the race that
really matters... the race with ourselves…
is never really over.” The copy is clever
in both its simplicity and universal
application as it could apply to individuals,
brands or entire industries.
A much younger industry, for which
a similar race is only just beginning,
is mobile. For our purposes we will be
focusing on select tools and strategies
applied when marketing for mobile.
While the mobile and automotive
industries will continue their respective
pursuits of greatness and perfection, they
are also two industries that will continue
to be tied to practices and philosophies
of the past. These are core values and
features that will be redefined rather than
relinquished entirely.
Strategic ad placement
It’s been over 50 years since the release
of Volkswagen’s iconic Think Small and
Lemon print ad campaigns, which for the
time were as unconventional as they were
self-deprecating. This is where the familiar
‘you can’t know where you’re going until
you know where you’ve been’ cliché
comes into play.
Mobile marketers would be justified in
dismissing the traditional ad placement
strategies applied to print, radio and
television. What they should be cautious not
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to reject is the logic behind those strategies.
Instead of evaluating the programming that
best corresponds with their target audience,
mobile marketers need to consider optimal
partnering websites and affiliates. Rather
than purchasing time that corresponds
with when people are most likely to be
listening to their car radios, they need to
think of what time a particular banner ad
should display on a given website and when
visitors would be most likely to engage with
their online product.
Evaluating the strength of different
broadcasters in different markets has
become less important, as those in mobile
need to look at the potential of geotargeting solutions where messages can
be customised based on region and IP
address. Finally, rather than concerns over
sound quality and readability in traditional
mediums, marketers now need to consider
the responsiveness of the mobile sites on
which their ads are displayed.
When viewed in the proper context, we
can see plenty of room for philosophical
cross-over between then and now.
Delivering advertising where
it’s wanted
The first issue of Car, Britain’s longest
running monthly automotive publication
– initially called Small Car and Mini Owner
– was published in 1962, long before there
were such things as digital magazines,
short-messaging-service (SMS) and social
engagement strategies. Nonetheless,
when looking at the ‘About Us’ section
on their website, the first paragraph
includes mention of blogs, video content
and a community area. The reason for
emphasising a publication such as Car is
that it progressed from the era of home
mGAMING
delivered magazine subscriptions and
newsletters, to that of proactive customer
engagement and brand responsiveness.
While mobile marketers are able to forego
the rigmarole of printing and mailing hard
copies of their content, they must now
adhere to a new set of demands that are
more complex, involved and strategic than
anything previously encountered. This is
where the domains of marketing and public
relations begin to bleed into one another.
Customers can encourage the reach of a
brand’s mobile site or app by signing up for
digital newsletters and alerts to their inbox.
Finding the right methodology and site
design to encourage customers to complete
a call-to-action like a sign-up is one part of
the challenge. Once customers are invested,
those sign-ups provide a consistent
distribution channel for content that is
engaging and valuable to the recipient.
Whereas content distribution has
a strong marketing orientation, the
impact of pub lic relations is inherent in
building a social community. Community
management requires more than
witty online banter as it can also mean
addressing reproaches in a manner that
is both timely and respectful. When
executed effectively this can build trust and
encourage future engagement of a more
positive nature.
Analysis of traffic and revenue
In discussing the analytical review of traffic
and revenue performance, we could easily
reference any number of land-based retail
outlets. Whether it is a standalone operation
or a corporate chain, any business peddling
a product through a physical location
follows a similar equation for profit. That
equation comprises of bringing people